Charles Quint

Spain ruled the Low Countries, under Charles Quint, the ruler of Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and America. Because of the immense amounts of territory under his control, he was widely considered the most powerful man in Europe. Fun fact: by the time he was 20, in 1520, Charles V ruled the largest collection of European land since Charlemagne over 700 years earlier. He had been born in Flanders, spoke French, and became the Duke of Burgundy as a child. As he grew up, he inherited three more crowns from his different, extremely powerful grandparents: Hapsburg Austria, Spain, and the German Lands. By 1520, France was surrounded by Spanish territories, which made Frances I just the tiniest bit nervous.

Meanwhile, Charles ruled his empire more like a family estate than a united kingdom, allowing each part to keep its own languages, customs, laws and forms of government. Charles travelled around, holding court in different capitals.

Charles first arrived in Spain as a foreigner, not speaking a word of Spanish, but he soon came to regard Spain as the most essential part of his empire. At that time, newly-united Spain was driving out the Moors. In 1492, Columbus landed in the New World, and within a generation, Spain had conquered the Inca and Mayan empires. Because of these conquests, Spain was enriched by silver and gold brought back across the Atlantic, and the once conquered nation grew exponentially in power, wealth, and prestige.

Unfortunately for the common people he was ruling over, despite the treasures pouring in from the Americas, Charles found it necessary to levy heavy taxes on the Netherlands, especially on the flourishing cloth industry. He needed money for endless wars, and to build forts to protect his newly massive empire. Generally, his actions shortly after becoming king did nothing to appease the fears of the Spanish people.